You're My Mom
by Kristen3
Summary: Set during "The Tower." While they walk through the park, Regina and Henry are attacked by one of Zelena's flying monkeys. The incident leaves Henry shaken and scared, and he wants the only mother he remembers, Emma. One-shot. Rating is for slight profanity.


"So, how was New York?" Regina asked her son. It hurt to know that, to him, she was a virtual stranger. But getting to see Henry and spend time with him was better than nothing.

"OK, I guess. It was just my mom and me, but we were happy."

Regina should've been over this thing of being jealous of Emma by now. She'd had three years to get used to the fact that she wasn't the only mother in Henry's life anymore. But Emma was the only mother Henry knew about at the moment. Regina realized Henry was waiting for her to speak. "That's nice. Your mother told me you made lots of friends in New York."

"Yeah. I miss them all, but they're sort of jealous that my mom just decided to take me here right in the middle of the school year!"

"I bet they are," Regina smiled. Being around Henry like this wasn't easy, but sometimes, it was worth it. Just as she was about to say something more, she noticed something up in the sky. She stopped walking, and Henry did, too. As the flying object got closer, Regina realized what it was. "That witch," she muttered.

"What is that?!" Henry had never seen anything like it before. If he didn't know better, he'd say it was a monkey, except it had wings.

"It's OK, Henry. I'll take care of it." Without even thinking, Regina conjured a fireball and threw it at the attacking simian. The flying monkey disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.

"How did you do that?!" Henry asked, his eyes wide.

Only then did Regina remember that Henry had no clue about her magical powers. "Um..."

"Was that thing trying to attack us? I'm scared," Henry said. At fourteen, he prided himself on nearly being an adult. But suddenly, he felt just like when he was little. Only now it wasn't a nightmare. It was real.

Impulsively, Regina put her arms around her son. "It's OK, Henry. I'll protect you."

Why was this woman hugging him suddenly, as if they were family? Henry barely knew her. "What's going on?"

"You don't have to worry, Henry. I'll protect you. Just like always," Regina said reassuringly.

"Always?" Henry asked. He'd only met her a couple of days ago. Things were getting weirder and weirder by the second.

Regina felt her heart break. She'd been protecting Henry since he was a baby, and now he thought she was some crazy woman. "Let's just go somewhere safe, OK? Once you have a bite to eat at Granny's, you'll feel much better."

"I don't want to go to Granny's," Henry said. "I want my mom."

Regina's already-broken heart then shattered. She was his mother. Why didn't Henry understand that? "Your mom's busy. She's working on a case, remember?" If Emma and the others had tracked the Wicked Witch down, the last thing Regina wanted to do was let Henry go anywhere near them.

"I know. But whatever that thing was just tried to attack me. I just want to be with someone who I know will keep me safe."

Regina didn't know what to say. She knew she could protect her son as well as anyone. Maybe even better, considering her powers. But she couldn't say any of that to Henry.

With a sigh, Henry pulled his cellphone out of his pocket. He hit a button. "Mom?" he asked when she answered his call. "Where are you?" He waited a moment while she responded to his question. "OK, I'll be there in a couple minutes. Thanks."

"Well, what did your mother say?" Regina wanted to ask if there'd been any sign of the Witch, but she knew better than to say so.

"She's down by the dock. She said it's OK if I want to go meet her there."

"What are we waiting for, then?" Regina asked, forcing a smile. She and Henry went back to her car. There was no use in trying to change her son's mind.

Minutes later, the two arrived at the dock. Regina had barely parked before Henry got out of the car. "Mom!" He hugged Emma tightly.

"Whoa, kid, what brought this on?" Emma asked, a bit startled by the embrace.

"It's so good to see you," was all Henry said as he hung on to his mother for dear life.

"It's good to see you, too. But why don't you go and watch the boats for a couple minutes?"

Henry wanted to stay near his mother forever. Whatever that weird thing was that had attacked him, he knew his mother would keep it away. But he also knew better than to argue with her. "OK," he said, reluctantly walking away.

"What the hell happened?" Emma asked Regina, the second her son was out of earshot.

"We were walking through the park, and one of the flying monkeys tried to attack. I got rid of it, of course. But Henry was rather frightened. He wanted his mother." She said the last part quickly. She couldn't deny the ache she felt as she spoke the words.

"Well, I'm glad you brought him back safe. Thanks." Emma smiled. She couldn't imagine what this was like for Regina, to have Henry not know her.

"You're welcome. Just...keep him out of harm's way, OK?"

"Of course. We're going to fix this. You know that, right?"

Regina nodded. Emma and her parents were famous for always believing in happy endings. It was still new to the Evil Queen. Regina thought of what Henry told her a year ago, just before he and Emma left Storybrooke. "You're not a villain. You're my mom." He might not believe that now, but someday, he would. After spending so much time around Emma and her parents, Regina had learned one important lesson: no matter how bad it looks, there's always hope.

**The End**


End file.
